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Memento Mori
Memento Mori Medium Undead (Incorporeal) Hit Dice: 4d12 (26 hp) Initiative: +3 Speed: Fly 50 ft. (10 squares)(perfect) Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 deflection), touch 14, flat-footed 13 Base Attack/Grapple: +2/- Attack: Shocking touch +5 melee (shocking touch) Full Attack: Shocking touch +5 melee (shocking touch) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Electric charge, shocking touch Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., devoted guardian, incorporeal traits, undead traits Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +4 Abilities: Str -, Dex 16, Con -, Int 9, Wis 4, Cha 18 Skills: Bluff +11, Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (history) +4, Listen +6, Sense Motive +4, Spot +6 Feats: Alertness, Persuasive Environment: Any Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 3 Treasure: Double standard Alignment: Always neutral Advancement: 5-12 HD (Medium) or by character class Level Adjustment: - A translucent humanoid appears over a nearby coffin. A memento mori is created to serve as an everlasting remembrance of a dead person, and as an ever-vigilant guardian over its body. It appears as a translucent image of the deceased at the time of its creation, which can range from nearly as it appeared in life to horribly mangled and rotted. It retains the memories of its life, but has a very short-term memory of events thereafter. It will converse with anyone who does not seek to disturb the remains it guards, and often can recite family history to its descendants and other knowledge seekers. Because of its short-term memory, it treats each visit as the first time. It lacks personality and has no interest in learning from others. Multiple memento mori within a similar location ignore each other, each interested only in protecting its own body and treasures. Memento mori are generally found near places of interment, such as tombs or shrines. The body is usually dressed in fine funerary garb, and treasures can vary from modest, sentimental possessions to royal caches. A memento mori eternally guards both its bdoy and its treasures, valuing both equally. The memento mori always guards the greatest portion of its treasure remaining. If the majority is destroyed or stolen, it unerringly hunts down the largest remaining portion of its treasure and resumes its vigilance at the treasure's current location. A memento mori speaks whatever languages it spoke in life, usually at least Common. A memento mori based off a larger or smaller creature retains the size of the original creature, but this does not affect the Hit Dice. COMBAT A memento mori uses intimidation to warn off would-be grave robbers, relying on its electric charge and shocking touch if other methods of intimidation fail. It generally opens with its electric charge, followed by a mild jolt of shocking touch if its enemies are not deterred. Devoted Guardian (Su): A memento mori is immune to turning when it is guarding its body or designated possessions. However, on the rare occasions that it leaves its guardianship, the memento mori is turned as an undead of its hit dice. Discern Location (Su): A memento mori always knows the location of any portion of its body or treasure. This functions as a discern location spell, but is always active and only applies to the memento mori's body and treasure. Electric Charge (Su): A memento mori can release a static electric charge in a 20-foot radius that deals 1 point of electricity damage. When it uses this ability, a memento mori crackles with a blue nimbus of electricity (treat as faerie fire) for 1 round, and the memento mori gains a +4 bonus on Intimidate checks for 24 hours against any creature that it damages with this ability. The memento mori can choose to center this effect on the body it guards instead of itself. Shocking Touch (Su): The touch attack of a memento mori normally deals 1d6 points of electricity damage (as the shocking grasp spell). However, as a swift action, the memento mori can sacrifice one or more hit points to add that many dice of damage to its touch. For example, a memento mori could sacrifice 3 hp to deal 4d6 dice of electricity damage on its next successful touch attack. New Spell Create Memento Mori (Necromancy) Cleric 6 Components: V, S, DF, M Casting Time: 2 hours Range: Touch Targets: One corpse touched Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No Casting this spell on a dead body causes a sliver of the soul that once inhabited the body to become a memento mori, standing guard over its body. Only one memento mori can be made from each person’s soul. A memento mori cannot be created if the body of the deceased is not present or if the body or soul of the deceased has already been turned into some other form of undead. Material Component: A collection of herbs, spices, oils, and precious substances worth 500 gp that are placed in or about the body during casting. These oils and such are all incorporated into the body and are not recoverable. Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #186 (1992). Category:Undead